FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION, LIMITED EDITION (Paramount, 1980-89) D: Sean S. Cunningham, w/ Betsy Palmer, Kane Hodder. Rating: NN DVD package: NNNNN Rating: NN
What makes this a limited edition is a sticker on the box telling you which of 50,000 copies you’re holding. Otherwise, this is same set released in 2009, and the two key things you need to know about it are that the hockey mask won’t fit anyone over the age of six and the 3-D on Friday The 13th, Part 3 is badly marred by ghosting. (The disc also has a 2-D version.)
What you get is the first eight F13 movies and a ton of extras, including deleted scenes with only a little more gore. These movies aren’t nearly as gruesome as their reputation or today’s standards.
All the movies follow the same pattern: a bunch of teens hang out, smoke dope and have sex while a crazed killer offs them and anyone who happens by.
The first three are the least competent and therefore the best of a mediocre lot. Their skeletal stories and low-calibre writing, acting and production give them an edge that gets sharper the farther they get from conventional Hollywood moviemaking. By the fourth film, ordinary notions of plot, character, humour and production values start creeping in. They only tone down the shudders and point up what a monotonous bore the killer is.
All the commentaries are fun, but the first features the extra joy of listening to the creators vilify the critics and defend their movie.
EXTRAS Eight commentaries, three making-of docs, short films, true crime mocumentary, deleted scenes, 3-D glasses, hockey mask, more. Widescreen. English, French, Spanish audio. English, French, Spanish, Portuguese subtitles.
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